How to Prevent Ceiling Slugs

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This article was co-written by Lydia Patubo. Lydia Patubo is the manager of Flowercraft’s Garden Center in San Francisco. She studied Environmental Horticulture at the City University of San Francisco and has over 10 years of experience with Environmental Horticulture.

There are 16 references cited in this article that you can view at the bottom of the page.

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Bare slugs are a hazard to gardeners; This small gastropod often sneaks out at night, eating leaves and fruit on trees. Instead of letting them take over your beloved garden, take action to get rid of the slugs that are wreaking havoc on your plants. With a variety of methods including baiting and trapping and using natural predators to get rid of naked slugs, you won’t be bothered by slugs. Note that all of these remedies also work for snails.

Table of Contents

Set Trap and Hunt

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Use beer or wine traps on important plants. Bare slugs will only notice traps about 1 meter away from them, so this is most effective for small gardens or important areas. ^{[1] X Research Source} Set traps according to the following guidelines:

Bury a tall cup with a slope inside the soil. Leave 1 cm of cup opening, to prevent slug beetle traps. ^{[2] X Research Source}
Pour beer or milk to half a cup.
Change the cup every few days. If the slugs come out, replace with a mixture of honey, yeast, and a little water, and boil until sticky. ^{[3] X Research Sources}^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Kill naked slugs with a trap with coarse cornmeal. Raw cornmeal is cheap, but may not attract many slugs. Put 10 or 20 g of cornstarch in a jar and place it horizontally. Keep the cornmeal dry, and it will kill the naked slug by expanding inside the slug. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Lure naked slugs with humane traps. Bare slugs congregate in dark, damp places, like under wooden planks, flower pots, or cardboard boxes. Set traps and check each day to focus and eliminate them away from your home. For best results, lure them with one of the following slug food: ^{[6] X Research Source}^{[7] X Research Source}

Cabbage leaves
Lemon peel is soaked in water
Dry pet food

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Protect traps from rain and pets. Water will damage the cornstarch trap and liquid. Put a cover over the top to keep out the rain. If you have a pet that can eat the bait, use a cover such as turning the flower pot upside down and leaving only a small entrance.

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Hunting slugs at night. While it’s not the most enjoyable job, hunting individual slugs can be necessary to handle a large infestation. Using a flashlight and gloves, skewer the slugs with a stick or put them in a bucket of soapy water. ^{[8] X Research Source} If you have a headlamp, hunting will be easier.

Check underneath the leaves.
Follow the greasy stains you see.

Preventing Ceiling Slugs

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Keep the garden dry. You won’t see immediate results, but keeping your garden dry is the best method for long-term slug control. Here are some strategies to help make your garden less welcoming to damp insects: ^{[9] X Research Source}

Water the plant mid-morning, so the soil will dry out before dark.
Install a drip irrigation system to limit water usage.
Keep the yard debris-free, and mow the lawn regularly.
Avoid using organic mulch, like straw or cut grass.
Place the plants far enough apart to allow air to circulate around them.

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Create mulch or tea from certain plants. Prepare the following plants that will deter bare slugs to some extent, if you can find them at your local gardening store: ^{[10] X Research Source}

Coating of oak leaves or powdered tobacco stalks, strewn around the tree
Wormwood tea, made by steeping wormwood branches in warm water for 24 hours. Drain and mix with soapy water, then spray onto soil or slugs. ^{[11] X Research Source}

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Make a fence with copper wire. Buy a strip of copper wire that is wide enough that the slug can’t crawl through. Use them to make a fence around plants or around tree beds.

Note: Children can cut their hands from these copper strips. ^{[12] X Research Source}

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Sprinkle salt on a surface other than the soil. Sprinkle salt on where snails often crawl to kill them with the moisture they leave behind. Be aware that salt can easily kill plants and damage the soil. Use salt around the base of the flowerpot on the porch, or place a fence in the soil before spreading the salt to protect the condition of the soil.

Avoid using salt in situations where the salt can come into contact with water (such as during the rainy season or when the watering can run off). Water can dissolve salts and wash them out of the “safe” zone and into the soil, affecting soil quality.

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Build a fence by folk methods. Gardeners were fed up with putting every substance in their garden to deter bare slugs. Here are the most effective at-home methods, but may not prevent 100% of ceiling slugs:

Coffee grounds can have a slight effect on the health of your garden.
Coarse, sharp sand scratches ceiling slugs, but may not prevent it completely.
Seaweed isn’t as effective as granulated salt, but is probably safer for the soil. If you can find it, seaweed food containing calcium will be better. ^{[13] X Research Source}

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Plant a plant that will prevent naked slugs. Specific plants keep naked slugs away because of the plant’s taste, texture, or poison. Plant them in a hedge around the entire garden, or intersperse with other plants. These plants do not get rid of 100%, but they will stop many slugs with no effort besides the original plants. Try growing the following varieties: ^{[14] X Research Source}^{[15] X Research Source}

Herbs: ginger, garlic, herbs, mint, and chicory.
Vegetables: Bitter vegetables are generally less attractive to slugs than sweet ones. Try growing kale, spring cabbage, or broccoli sprouts.
Hosta cultivars with green leaves are better at preventing it.
Perfectly shade-loving flowers: Astilbe, Dicentra, Digitalis (Cao locust), Lobelia, Vipa (some pansies and vipetals). There are also Ranunculus and Vinca , but they grow very quickly.
Partially shade-loving flowers: oleander, bellflower, geranium . Like European mint , but this variety grows very quickly.

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Consider using a stronger (but more dangerous) fence. There are many materials that can kill bare slugs on contact. They can be used as effective barriers to slugs, but they should be used with care and kept dry. ^{[16] X Research Source} Improper use can harm your garden (even the people and animals that use them). Make sure you use these ingredients on a soil-free surface except for the following precautions:

Safety warnings: Do not inhale these substances or handle them with bare hands. They may not be suitable for gardens with children and pets.
Diatomite: May be harmful to beneficial insects. ^{[17] X Research Source}
Wood Ash: Increases the pH in the soil, bringing high efficiency.
Slaked lime: Increases soil pH greatly. It is possible to make the land uncultivable.
Spray 1% caffeine: Spray directly on the plants you want to protect; Kill slugs when they eat them. Can adversely affect plants in unpredictable ways. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

Using Natural Predators

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Use ground beetles. Beetles are natural slug hunters. You can buy beetle larvae at a gardening store and spread them around your garden in early spring. The larvae will feed, pupate, and emerge as adults in the summer. ^{[19] X Research source} . ^{[20] X Research Source}

Alternatively, you can encourage wild beetles to live near trees by providing shelter under rocks, grass, or straw. This helps the bugs hide from predators, making your garden an attractive home. Fortunately, ground beetles can live almost anywhere that bare slugs live. ^{[21] X Research Source}

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Use birds to be effective. The largest natural predator for naked slugs is the bird; Ducks, chickens, robins, jays, and other common birds are all very fond of bare slugs. If you’re not terribly upset, you can pick up slugs and throw them to the wild birds in the morning; they will gradually become a condition for finding slugs in your garden, and you don’t need to ‘feed’ them anymore. If you have chickens or ducks, you can also feed them garden slugs every day.

Always keep an eye on the chickens, as they can eat the whole plant.
Encourage birds to nest in your garden by creating hedges or dense bushes, food, and bird food containers. ^{[22] X Research Source}

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Release the toad. Toads love to eat slugs and other plant pests if you give them a home in the garden. If you are trying to attract feral toads to live in your garden, turn the pot or other container upside down and place a rock underneath to provide a dark shelter for the toads. On the other hand, you can buy wild toads to raise in the garden and eat slugs every day for you. You can also add a small decorative pond for toads and frogs to live. ^{[23] X Research Sources}

Do not keep fish in the aquarium as they may eat tadpoles.

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Cultivate roundworms if necessary. Roundworms are microscopic parasites that live in the soil. You can purchase nematodes that are specifically designed to kill naked slugs at your local garden store. This method is extremely effective, but it is also a double-edged sword. When all slugs are killed, the slug predators (and roundworms) either leave the garden or die. If you don’t buy back the roundworms every few weeks, a huge wave of slugs will flood in and take over the garden as there is no longer a threat. ^{[24] X Research Source}

Roundworms should be used according to the instructions. Usually, they are sprinkled on the soil, then watered.

Using Chemical Measures

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Spray ammonia on the slug. You can make a slug killer spray by making a mixture of ammonia and water. Mix 1 part raw household ammonia with 6 parts water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle, then spray on the slugs whenever you see them. Be careful not to spray directly on the plant, as it may burn the leaves afterwards.

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Take iron phosphorus tablets. These small slug killers can be found in the garden center, to be spread around the garden. Slugs will be attracted to them, but when ingested they will die within a week. This method is safe for most pets and edible plants, but is better when used sparingly. ^{[25] X Research Sources}

Buy brands like Sluggo, Slug Magic, and Escar-Go.

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Use metaldehyde. Metaldehyde is a popular slug killer, but it has some limitations. ^{[26] X Research Source} It is worth noting that metaldehyde can be very toxic (especially to dogs). ^{[27] X Research Sources} Proper handling and trapping is essential to avoid dangerous situations for family pets.

Avoid “tablets” of metaldehyde, which can be mistaken for pet medication. Use “seed” instead.
Store metaldehyde in a place inaccessible to dogs.
Do not use this remedy near edible plants.
Spread a thin layer of metaldehyde, do not pile up, as pets will mistake it for food.
Metaldehyde works best on warm, dry days, but cannot be used in the sun. Spread underneath the leaves the evening before warm weather is forecast.
Look for products that contain low doses of metaldehyde, which are less harmful to the environment. ^{[28] X Research Sources}

Advice

Spray WD40 around the pot base on the porch about 5-7 cm on the top. It will stick for a long time even in the rainy season. Do it twice a year.
If hunting bare slugs by hand, hunt them when it starts to get dark, preferably on wet nights, or catch them early in the morning.
Try a salted peanut butter slug trap.

Warning

There is some controversy as to whether iron phosphorus tablets actually contain ingredients that make them toxic when taken. It is thought to contain EDTA, which is listed as an inert ingredient.
Many types of slug traps are introduced as safe, containing no poisons that damage or kill invertebrates including worms.
Bare slugs are mollusks, not insects, so regular insecticides won’t work.

Steps